“The Dragon and the Wolf” is everything we imagined it could be. Yet somewhere in the midst of Viserion’s magical blue fire destroying the wall and the Night King playing jockey, it felt like it sold its soul to convenience and a Disney score.

We can all pat ourselves on the collective backs, we “predicted” the Wall would come down, and it did. The dead had to start their march, and they did. Cersei was obviously going to do something heinous, and she did. We hoped that Dany and Jon would do it, and they did. And by golly, Sam was listening to Gilly, and Bran did that plug and play thing with the plot.

The all-to-available resolutions created a ton more questions as the thread runs out on GRRM’s spool, and the Double-Ds might have jumped like three sharks in one episode.

Even with that problem, the touchstone Stark children took us all the way back to the first episode as they make their own justice for Lord Peter Baelish. “When the lone wolf dies, the pack survives.” Ned Stark said that and this episode is filled with his spirit and his pack survives dutifully. It’s satisfying and truly earned.

Also…

Cersei and her Queensguard are dressed in all black, like an omen

That dagger tho

A dragon is not a slave

Cleganebowl, sort of

Littlefinger on his knees

Dothraki hoard + Unsullied are intimidating AF

R + L actually = A

Fucking Theon… took up far too many minutes of precious real estate for a bit of brutality, triumphant music and sunshine. Whatever. We’ll never get those moments back, and maybe Yara will live. Then again, everyone can’t make it to the end alive.

Who do you think lives and dies in the final season? Who will kill Cersei, Jaime or Tyrion? Will Jon (I mean Aegon) do something absurdly self-sacrificial? Where is the Red Witch?

You know, Jorah used to fight for the Golden Company AND the Golden Company was founded by a Targaryen bastard, Aegor Rivers, so how useful will Cersei’s sell swords really be to her?

DID TORMUND MAKE IT?

Will Jon (I mean Aegon) make it back to Winterfell to reunite with Arya and Sam? Is Bran the Night King or is the Night King a Targaryen? Will Winterfell survive the Army of the Dead?

We clearly still have so much to discuss. Sound off in the comments on theories for Season 8, and let’s do another podcast.